The Mineral Industry of Zimbabwe in 2010
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2010 Minerals Yearbook ZIMBABWE U.S. Department of the Interior August 2012 U.S. Geological Survey THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ZIMBABWE By Philip M. Mobbs Zimbabwe’s diverse mineral output included about 5% of the 2010 Mid Term Fiscal Policy Statement. Royalties on the world’s platinum production and about 3% of the world’s base metals remained at 2% of gross revenue (Central African palladium output. In 2010, additional mineral production Gold PLC, 2010, p. 3; Kramarenko and others, 2010, p. 39). companies resumed operations at mines and plants that had been temporarily suspended (placed on care-and-maintenance status) Production in the past few years. Few companies, however, were operating at full capacity owing in part to the difficulty in securing In 2010, production of numerous mineral commodities funding and the ongoing uncertainty concerning the pace of increased significantly owing to the Government’s changes the indigenization process in the mining sector (which would in legislative and monetary policies in 2009. Such changes affect future equity ownership of mineral operations) (table 1; included the temporary replacement of the Zimbabwe dollar International Monetary Fund, 2011, p. 21–23; Loferski, 2011). by a multicurrency national financial system, which aided In 2010, the real gross domestic product growth was the industry’s recovery from hyperinflation that had ravaged estimated to be 9% compared with 6% in 2009 and –18% in Zimbabwe’s economy in 2008 and early 2009, and allowing 2008. The inflation rate was down to an estimated 3% in 2010 organizations to export gold instead of selling it to the compared with 6.5% in 2009 and an estimated average of Government. Chromite and ferrochromium production increased 55,600,000,000% for the first nine months of 2008 (International in response to increased world demand for ferrochrome. The Monetary Fund, 2011, p. 27). significant increase in diamond production was attributed The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development manages to increased activity in the Marange diamondfields, which the mineral sector in accordance with the Mines and Minerals produced 90% industrial-grade material. Gold output was Act (chapter 21:05), the Mining (General) Regulations, 1977, estimated to have continued to rebound from the low volumes of and their amendments. Mining operations also are regulated by 2008 owing to legislation that allowed production companies to sections of the Environmental Management Act of 2002 (chapter export gold themselves instead of selling it to the Government 20:27) and its 2007 amendment, the Explosive Act, the Forest and waiting for payment. Estimated or reported production Act, the Parks and Wildlife Act, the Public Health Act, and the of ammonia, cement, coal, cobalt, copper ore and metal, Suppression of Money Laundering Act. The Indigenisation and ferrosilicon chromium, graphite, nickel ore, phosphate rock, Economic Empowerment Act of 2007, which requires that 51% PGMs, silver, and stone also increased. Production volumes ownership of businesses in Zimbabwe with a net asset value of asbestos, coke, lithium, perlite, talc, and vermiculite were greater than $500,000 be acquired by eligible Zimbabweans, estimated to have decreased compared with those of 2009 was published in 2008. The Indigenisation and Economic (table 1; Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, 2010). Empowerment Regulations (chapter 14:33) became effective in early 2010. Structure of the Mineral Industry Minerals in the National Economy Domestic and international investment companies, domestic and international mining companies, Government-owned Of the approximately 30 minerals and mineral-based companies, mining cooperatives, multinational cement commodities produced in Zimbabwe, gold and platinum-group companies, and small-scale miners managed mineral operations metals (PGMs) were the most economically significant. In in Zimbabwe. Foreign investment was concentrated in the accordance with the Minerals Marketing Corp. of Zimbabwe cement, chromium, coal, diamond, gold, nickel, PGM, and steel Act [as modified by the Minerals Marketing Corp. (Exemption) sectors. Regulations, 1983, and the Precious Stones Trade Act, 1978], State-owned operating companies in the mineral sector state-owned Minerals Marketing Corp. of Zimbabwe officially included Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp. (ZMDC), marketed much of the mineral production of Zimbabwe. The which controlled many inactive copper and gold mines. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s monetary policy statement of Subsidiaries of state-owned Industrial Development Corp. of February 2, 2009, authorized organizations that held appropriate Zimbabwe Ltd. produced industrial minerals and mineral-based permits to export gold. Mining companies previously were commodities. Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Private) Ltd. required to sell their gold and silver output to Fidelity Printers (Zisco), in which the Government held an 89% interest, owned & Refineries (Private) Ltd., which was a subsidiary of the an idle crude steel plant, and a Zisco subsidiary managed iron Reserve Bank, for a mix of hard and local currency. PGM ore and limestone mines. concentrates and smelter matte were shipped to processing facilities in South Africa that were operated by Impala Platinum Ltd. Royalties on precious metals were increased to 4% of gross revenue from 3.5%, effective beginning October 1, by Zimbabwe—2010 43.1 Commodity Review Africa Holdings Ltd. of Mauritania, which was a subsidiary of Essar Group of India, was selected to be Zisco’s new majority Metals owner. Essar Africa Holdings began negotiations to acquire Zisco and its subsidiaries, which included Buchwa Iron Mining Chromium and Ferroalloys.—Zimbabwe Alloys Ltd. (Zim Co., from the Government. Buchwa controlled operational and Alloys) and Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Co. (Private) Ltd. undeveloped iron ore deposits in Zimbabwe. Negotiations for (Zimasco) were the major chromite ore producing companies. Zisco continued at yearend (Business Report, 2010; Muleya, Much of the ore produced by Zimasco was from podiform 2010; Ndlela, 2010b; Makombe and Nyakezeya, 2011). deposits in the Shurugwi area; however, the lumpy ore from the Nickel.—RioZim continued operations at the Empress Nickel podiform deposits was expected to be mined out by 2015 at the Refinery at about 50% of installed capacity. RioZim reported current (2010) rate of production. Numerous small-scale mining production of about 8,600 metric tons (t) of copper and nickel companies and cooperatives produced a friable chrome ore from in 2010 compared with 8,844 t in 2009. Lower-than-expected alluvial deposits or from the stratiform deposits along the Great volumes of imported nickel matte, which was toll refined for Dyke; this ore required agglomeration before being processed BCL Ltd. of Botswana, affected processing operations, as did by the ferrochrome producers. In 2010, the electric-arc furnace equipment failure, electrical-power outages, water shortages, facilities of the Zimbabwe ferrochrome producers remained and a shortage of working capital (RioZim Ltd., 2011, p. 11, 14). adversely affected by the availability of electric power Bindura Nickel Corporation Ltd.’s nickel mines, smelter, (Chitambira, Miso-Mbele, and Gumbie, 2011). and refinery remained on care-and-maintenance status in 2010. Zim Alloys and Zimasco were also Zimbabwe’s major Bindura Nickel, which was a subsidiary of Mwana Africa PLC, ferrochrome producers. Several small-scale ferrochrome evaluated the feasibility of restarting mining operations at the smelters, which were primarily Chinese-owned, had been Trojan Mine in Bindura without restarting the adjacent smelter established along the Great Dyke in the past few years or refinery (Mwana Africa PLC, 2011, p. 10). (Chitambira, Miso-Mbele, Gumbie, 2011). The lack of available funding delayed Biometallurgical Zimasco proposed to rehabilitate one of its six furnaces by Group of Zimbabwe’s proposed redevelopment of the Empress 2012, which would restore the Kwekwe plant’s capacity to nickel deposit. Niger Uranium Ltd. of the United Kingdom 230,000 metric tons per year (t/yr). Zimasco also planned to formed a joint venture with Southern Africa Nickel Ltd. of install a 600,000-t/yr-capacity pelletizing and sintering plant and South Africa, which held the Bend nickel prospect and other a new 60-megavolt-ampere furnace, which would increase the projects in Zimbabwe. The joint venture planned to explore plant’s capacity to more than 300,000 t/yr by 2014 (Herald, The, the concessions, which had last been evaluated in 1992 by 2010; Kadzere, 2011). Falconbridge Ltd. of Canada. In 2010, Chromex Mining plc acquired Waylox Mining Platinum-Group Metals.—The Ngezi Mine, which was (Private) Ltd., which held the Prince of Wales and the Trixie operated by Zimplats Holdings Ltd. of Guernsey, produced prospects, and started a feasibility study on the Trixie claims. 3.9 million metric tons (Mt) of ore in 2010. The ore contained Synergy Africa Ltd. of the United Kingdom, which was a joint 3,493 t of nickel, 2,506 t of copper, about 5.6 t of platinum, venture of Rukki Group Plc of Norway (51%) and Kermas about 4.6 t of palladium, about 600 kilograms (kg) of gold, and Ltd. of the British Virgin Islands (49%), subsequently acquired about 500 kg of rhodium (Zimplats Holdings Ltd., 2011a, p. 21; b). Chromex Mining. RioZim Ltd. of Zimbabwe explored the The Phase 1 expansion project at the Ngezi Mine, which Darwendale claims for chromite and evaluated a joint venture included the development